A love for quiche: asparagus quiche with mashed potato crust

I followed the Good Housekeeping recipe as diligently as if I was being tested in a middle school Home Economics course. The result of my first quiche attempt? While I liked it, especially the soft custard feeling, frankly, I was not overwhelmed. The pastry was hard and tasteless and the bacon imparted an overpowering flavour. I was quite happy to give quiche a miss, until a few weeks later when I saw it being served at what was then my favourite café in London – Patisserie Valerie . As it happens, Patisserie Valerie was right next to Hatchard’s , which was my all-time favourite bookstore in the whole world and was a ritual stop for me on every trip to London, which was about three or four times a year. I would visit Hatchard’s, buy at least one paperback novel and then head to Valerie’s next door for a most indulgent chocolate éclair and a diet coke (my sugar quota having...